Japanese voices in Zenit: Daigaku Horiguchi

Abstract

This paper analyses the essay entitled "The Word as a Principle" by Yvan Goll (1891-1950), published in Zenit (Issue 9, November 1921), which shows the non European tendency of Avant-garde poetics. In his text, Goll emphasises the need to create a new form of poetry quoting the verses of the Japanese poet Daigaku Horiguchi (1892-1981), one of the most important Japanese poets and translators of the last century. As the son of a distinguished diplomat, a rare bilingual poet among the Japanese at the time, he published poems in French and Japanese. After reviewing research on Zenit conducted in Japan so far, the first part of this paper determines the original text of the mentioned poem. In December 1921, Horiguchi published in Paris his first collection of Tankas in French. The foreword to it was written by the famous French poet Paul Fort (1872-1960). Goll, however, did not take it from there, but from the manuscript of his anthology Les Cinq Continents, which was published in Paris in 1922. The chosen song by Horiguchi is not traditional, but shows a new poetic spirit. Although it was written in five lines, which is reminiscent of the tanka form (5; 7; 5; 7; 7), the poet introduced a new topic: how the Japanese feel in a foreign country. In order to clarify the nature of Goll's connection with Horiguchi, a detailed description of Horiguchi's life is given, focusing on his stay abroad from 1911 to 1925. It can be seen from his biography that the meeting with the French painter Marie Laurencin (1883-1956) in Madrid in 1915 marked Horiguchi's poetic turn: his interest shifted from the poetics of symbolism to the Avant-garde, as the painter introduced him to Guillaume Apollinaire's (1880-1918) poetry. After staying in foreign countries (Mexico, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil and Romania), when he returned to Japan in 1925, Horiguchi published the Crowd under the Moon anthology, which contains translations of French songs from Parnassians to Avant-garde poets, including Yvan Goll. Although no traces of their connection can be established, it is clear that they both felt poetically related and close, with mutual respect. Finally, Goll's understanding of Japanese poetry in the context of Avant-garde poetics is considered in comparison with Miloš Crnjanski's essay entitled "For Free Verse" (1922), which also mentions Japanese poetry. While Goll emphasises the simplicity and conciseness of Japanese poetry, Crnjanski points to the improvisation as its significant feature. While Goll is searching for new poetry that is in line with living fast in the high-tech society, Crnjanski sees the everlasting connection of man with nature, which Japanese poetry is all about.